His legs were churning, his heart was racing and his mind was going everywhere ... just everywhere.

Paul Ereng had reached that pivotal moment, the moment that could and would change his life. It was 25 years ago and it seems like 25 seconds ago. He was in Seoul, South Korea, he was running in the finals of the Olympic 800 meters and his mind was racing ... telling him to do this, then, no, do that.

Ereng, now UTEP's cross country head coach and associate track and field head coach, gets misty-eyed reflecting on that moment, that moment that meant everything.

"It changed my life," Ereng said softly. "It changed my life. That moment meant so much to me. Everyone there was so talented. Everyone there had worked so hard to be there. The competition back home was so tough. It changed everything for me."

Ereng will take you through this magical run, remembering each second, each tenth of a second of each race ... retracing each step leading up to the pivotal moment, each step of his life-changing race that Monday, Sept. 26, 1988.

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"In August of 1987, I was relocating from Kenya to Virginia (to attend the University of Virginia)," Ereng said. "At that time, I was a 200- and 400-meter runner. My college coach, Fred Hardy, wanted me to switch to the 800. I had run 45.6 (seconds in the 400) in Kenya. I ask him why he wanted me to run the 800. He said, 'I think you could be a national champion in the 400. I think you can be a world champion in the 800.'

"I still wanted to make Kenya's Olympic team so I asked him, 'What can I do?'" Ereng said. "He said I should just work hard and have faith."

The journey begins

Ereng finished sixth in the NCAA Indoor 800, making All-American. He began to have a personal record each meet in the spring -- 1:48.01 at Duke, 1:47.99 at North Carolina, 1:46.76 at LSU (tying the school record), 1:46.66 at the Atlantic Coast Conference championships, 1:46.38 at Tennessee and 1:46.14 in the preliminary round at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. He would go on to win the NCAA outdoor championship as a freshman.

"I met up with the Kenyan team in Europe and I ran 1:44.84," Ereng said, reeling off times as if it were the day's shopping list. "We returned to Nairobi for our camp. We ran the Kenyan Olympic Trials on Aug. 12 and I made a tactical error. I went with 500 meters to go, just smoked it through the bell lap, through the backstretch. They caught me with 50 meters to go, but I finished third and made the team."

Smiling, Ereng said, "I was not able to raise the money for my airfare to Virginia when I went to college. I asked the chairman of our track and field committee to ask the president if he would help me with the money. And he did. So, when he came to the camp, he said he wanted to meet that boy."

Moi asked Ereng, "How is training going?"

Ereng replied politely, "OK."

Moi said, "No, not OK. It should be perfect. I want you to go there and shine."

There were 70 runners competing in the 800 meters ... 70 of the best runners in the world. They cut it to 32 for the second round, 16 in the semifinals, eight in the finals. Ereng shined. He won his qualifying heat in 1:46.14. He finished second to the highly regarded Joaquim Cruz of Brazil in the quarterfinals, running 1:46.38. He won the semifinal heat, edging Cruz with a time of 1:44.55.

And then came the finals ... the day of Sept. 26, 1988 ... a Monday.

The race

"I was so nervous," Ereng recalled. "I looked at all the other guys, the guys with great credentials. I had divided the race into four 200s, thinking I would try to run around 25 seconds for each 200, and knowing that if I lost running 1:40, I would be fine with that."

The nerves seemed overwhelming, swarming him like bees.

And then the gun went off.

"The first 200 was really fast, around 23 seconds," Ereng said. "In my mind, I'm thinking it would be possible to go under 1:40 and lose. I just kept on thinking of so many things. My mind was going everywhere. We were at 300 meters ... coming up on the bell lap and I was beginning to panic a little. I didn't want to be last, so I moved up to seventh running easily.

"We reached the backstretch, with 300 meters to go," he said. "In my mind, I kept feeling like I was wasting time, that I was running out of time. I wanted to go. But, then I had another thought. Don't blow it up, not yet. Be patient. We got to 600 meters (200 meters to go) and I made my move. I don't know really how it happened, but I found myself running on the inside lane. Trapped. I didn't know what to do.

"We got to 700 meters and I made a move, dodging through the crowd," he said. "I went outside and then inside really quick. Joaquim Cruz was on my left, Said Aouita of Morocco was on my right. And I went.

"My coach (Hardy) always told me to just put your head down, relax and sprint. That's exactly what I did.

"I crossed the finish line and just remember thinking, wow," he said, his eyes moistening again. "I looked around. I thought maybe I was dreaming. I just kept looking around. It was an amazing, amazing feeling to be an Olympic champion. You know that only one person wins your event every four years ... only one person in the whole world. And, you know that you will always be an Olympic champion, for the rest of your life."

The aftermath

Ereng spoke softly, still emotional about the special moment in his life.

"I wouldn't be the person I am today without that moment," he said, barely audible in the quiet room.

He paused, shook his head, tears still welling in his eyes, then said, "Going home was amazing. The Nairobi airport, Jomo Kenyatta Airport, is about 10 miles from the city. It was an incredible sight. People were lined up for 10 miles. One man rode a bicycle, holding a newspaper with a big headline that said, 'Five Kenyan Gold.' We won five gold medals -- one in boxing, four in track and field.

"We went to Uhuru Park and it was filled with people," he said, shaking his head. "It was like a dream. The president (Moi) was in China and he left word that the gold medalists had to stay there in the city until he got back. We stayed in a hotel for a week. He finally returned and he was very proud."

Moi looked at Ereng and said, "I told you to go there and shine. And you did."

Ereng is still recognized on the streets back home ... even now, 25 years later. People will shout, "There's Paul ... there's Paul."

At the NCAA Championships in track-crazy Eugene, Ore., last June, Ereng was still signing autographs.

Ereng smiled and said, "There was a group of men and they said you are the guy who beat Joaquim Cruz, and before I knew it there was a line of people getting my autograph. Amazing."

Retired UTEP coach Bob Kitchens, who has coached many Olympians and Olympic medalists, said, "What a lot of people don't know is that Paul was the most talented 800-meter runner in the world at that time and nobody knew it. His coaches wanted him to be a rabbit for one of his teammates, but Paul said no. He is a very strong person. He can set his mind on something and really focus. He didn't go to Seoul to be anybody's rabbit or even to place. He went to win. To win an Olympic gold medal is an incredible accomplishment. So many people strive to be top 100 in the world. Paul was number one. To be number one in the world is amazing."

Ereng won at the 1989 World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in world record time of 1:44.84. He won at the 1991 World Indoor Championships in Seville, Spain. An Achilles injury hobbled him and eventually ended his career.

But he will forever have that moment in Korea.

Jurg Wirz wrote in IAAF Athletics, "The way he ran his races will forever be unforgettable. He preferred to stay at the back in races and then in the last 200 meters or so he would shift his tall frame into another gear and pass the field in dramatic style. His finish was incredible."

It has been a quarter of a century, it has been the blink of an eye since that special moment, that life-changing moment when Paul Ereng put his head down and ran ... ran to Olympic gold ... ran for something that he will treasure for a lifetime.

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